


Kane V. Mars

by sunkelles



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Gen, Past Duncan/Lilly, Post Logan/Lilly, Written in 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:48:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21811681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunkelles/pseuds/sunkelles
Summary: Duncan dies instead of Lilly, but Veronica loses her all the same.
Relationships: Lilly Kane/Eli "Weevil" Navarro, Lilly Kane/Veronica Mars, Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars & Eli "Weevil" Navarro, Wallace Fennel & Veronica Mars
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	Kane V. Mars

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote the bulk of this exactly 2 years ago, but i never got around to finishing or posting it. if i ever decide to rewatch veronica mars i'll probably clean this thing up and give it a proper ending, but for right now i kinda just want to post it so i'll stop looking at it. it has some good stuff in it, so hopefully if you're here looking for this content you won't be too disappointed.

Duncan Kane is dead. One day, he’s Veronica’s boyfriend and the next day he’s dead. Funny how life works sometimes. If this were a TV show, Veronica would call it overdramatic. She and Lilly would laugh at what an asspull this plot twist was before throwing popcorn at each other. 

The son of a billionaire found dead at his own pool, the guy who was Veronica’s boyfriend and brother of her best friend, with Veronica’s own father leading the investigation against his father. The soap opera shit would be so funny if it weren’t her life. All she wants to do is talk to Lilly about this. She wants them to have a movie night and paint their nails, to laugh about how ridiculous this is while eating popcorn and drinking cheap wine. 

She doesn’t think that’s why Lilly sends her a text asking to meet her at their private spot at the beach. 

“Hey Lilly,” Veronica says. Lilly looks up from her hands and sends Veronica a blank look. 

“Duncan’s dead,” Lilly says hollowly. Veronica sits down beside her, their shoulders touching. 

“I’m sorry,” Veronica says. 

“I’d think you’d care a little more, seeing how long you two dated,” Lilly says. 

“Lilly-” 

“Seems like you don’t even care, Veronica,” Lilly says, “why don’t you care?” 

“Of course I care,” Veronica says. Finding out that Duncan was dead was like a blow to the gut. He was her boyfriend, and one of her oldest friends. Privately and guiltily, she was relieved that it wasn’t Lilly, but she’d never admit to that out loud. 

“Then make your dad _stop,”_ Lilly says, turning back to face her. Veronica meets her eyes, and it looks like Lilly’s green eyes are boring into her soul. 

“Lilly-”  
  
"My dad didn't kill my brother, Veronica," Lilly spits. 

“My dad must have good reason to suspect him,” Veronica says. She doesn’t know if Jake Kane killed Duncan, but her dad thinks that he did. She has to stand by that. 

“You really think that dad would kill Duncan?” LIlly’s glare sharpens like a knife, “He was the golden child!” Veronica always thought it was a little funny that dark-haired Duncan was the golden child and golden blonde Lilly was the black sheep. It’s not quite so funny anymore. 

“I don’t know, Lilly,” Veronica says. She just wants them to put this behind them. Lilly’s always been her best friend. Whatever’s going on with their dads shouldn’t affect their friendship, right? 

“This is tearing my family apart, Veronica. Ask your dad to stop this.” 

“I can’t Lilly. I just- I don’t know.” Veronica trusts her dad. She doesn’t think she can ask him to do that in good conscience.  
  
"No,” Lilly says, “you can’t “I don’t know, Lilly” your way out of this, You have to choose. Me or him.” 

Veronica has always put Lilly first. She knows that Lilly expects that of her right now. She expects Veronica to choose her now, over her dad. Veronica’s not about to. Her decision is already made. 

"I choose my dad," Veronica says. Lilly nods. 

“Alright, Veronica,” Lilly says, and her voice is harder than Veronica’s ever heard it before, “then I choose _my_ dad.”  
  
Some might argue that this was Veronica's first mistake. She doesn't know anymore. All she knows is that she loves both of them, but she loves her dad more. Apparently, Lilly feels the same way, no matter what blustery words she always used to blow about hating her family. Lilly might be a raging storm, but it seems words are just gusts of wind. Maybe, in the end, family is all you really have. 

  
  
  


The months pass, and Veronica becomes 09er enemy number one. And PCHer enemy number one. And she’d always been hated by fellow members of the Neptune lower class for being so close to the Kanes. It would be shorter just to say Veronica becomes public enemy number one. 

Duncan is dead, Lilly hates her, and she and Logan has no reason to be her friend anymore. She and Logan were kept together by the fragile thread of their relationships with Lilly. So now, Veronica has her truce with Weevil. That’s it. She doesn’t have any other friends. Until she cuts Wallace Fennel off the flagpole. 

Weevil comes up to her and crosses his arms in front of him. 

“What are you doing?” he asks. 

“Please, leave the kid alone. He’s my new best friend. Don't need him deciding to treat me like my last one did.” 

“Look, Lilly’s hurt you sided with your dad over her,” Weevil says. 

“How would you know how Lilly feels?” Veronica asks. As far as she knows, Weevil and Lilly never even had a conversation. 

“She never told you, did she?” he asks. He sounds hurt, almost, that Veronica hasn’t heard about whatever this thing is. Knowing Lilly, Veronica can guess. 

“You two? Really?” Veronica asks. 

“Yeah,” Weevil says, “is it that surprising?” No, not really, if Veronica’s being honest. Weevil is exactly the kind of guy Lilly goes for when she’s tired of Logan. 

“Are you still?”

“She’s Lilly Kane. You think she stopped that completely?” And just like that, Veronica knows that Weevil’s sleeping with Lilly. Not just that he has in the past, but that they are right now. 

For the world to see, Lilly Kane had made a complete one-eighty. She hadn’t been caught at a party, her grades had been perfect, and after Logan, there were no boyfriends in sight. Apparently, the part that matters was “sight”. 

“No,” Veronica says, “I guess not. But maybe I never knew Lilly Kane at all.” 

“Does anyone ever really know anyone?” Weevil asks. Veronica doesn’t feel much like smiling, but she cracks one at that. 

“We got a philosopher over here,” she says. 

“I try.” And well, now Veronica knows that Weevil is on better terms with Lilly right now than she is. 

She doesn’t even think the words before they come out of her mouth, “Put in a good word for me with her, will you?” 

All she wants is to have her best friend back. She would do anything short of betraying her dad to make that happen. 

“You want me to be honest?” Weevil asks. Veronica nods. 

“I think that girl would have chose you over _any_ of her family, brother included,” Weevil says. Veronica feels like a brand new convertible that Weevil just scratched his keys all over. 

“Good luck, Veronica,” Weevil says, “specially with that new boyfriend of yours. Between us, he’s a lot better looking than the last one.” 

“Wait, what?” 

“I know it’s not great to speak bad of the dead, but poor Duncan didn’t get his sister’s looks.” 

“My _who_ now?” Veronica asks. 

“That boy you cut down from the flagpole.” 

“Wallace?” Veronica asks. Then she giggles a little. She likes Wallace, but she doesn’t think it’s like that, not really. God, she feels like a vapid teenage girl again. She hasn’t felt that way since Duncan died and Lilly dumped her. 

“You’re telling me you came over to talk to me about him, and he’s just your friend?” Weevil says. 

“I would have done the same for Lilly, and _we_ were just friends,” Weevil shrugs. 

“Pretty sure you liked her too, but I’m not judging,” he says. 

“I’m going now,” Veronica says. 

“Then go. I’m not stopping you.” Then Veronica leaves Weevil, and she’s even more confused than she was before. 

  
  


“So,” Wallace says, “we’ve been friends for a while now.” 

“That we have,” Veronica says. It’s been a month compared to her ten years of best friendship with Lilly, but she doesn’t think that’s worth mentioning. 

“So,” Wallace says, “I wanted to ask you a few questions.” 

“Yes, the White Sox will win the World Series, no Neptune isn’t getting an I-Hop, and yes, your hair looked better when you let it poof. Does that cover it?” Veronica asks. Wallace rolls his eyes. 

“I meant personal questions. About you.” 

“Oh,” Veronica says, “then shoot.” She knows exactly what this is going to be. Now Wallace wants all the juicy details of what happened between her and the Kanes. 

“What happened between you and Lilly Kane?” Wallace asks. 

“We used to be friends,” Veronica says, “best friends.” 

“Why did you stop?” Wallace says. 

“My dad accused her dad of killing her brother. Apparently, it didn’t sit well with her.” She still remembers Lilly telling her that if Veronica was going to chose her dad, Lilly was going to too. Weevil told her that Lilly would have chosen her over her family, but Veronica knows better. She watched Lilly do the exactly opposite. 

“The way people talk about Lilly, it seemed like she didn’t care what anyone thought,” Wallace says. 

“She didn’t used to,” Veronica says, “but then Duncan died. Everything changed after that.” Veronica can feel her emotions start to catch up to her. 

“But I bet you don’t really want to hear about that,” she says. 

“Well-” 

“Before everything changed it was all manicures and doing each other’s hair. Really boring girl stuff.” Wallace shrugs. 

“Alright. If you say so.” 

“Let’s watch _Die Hard_ ,” Veronica suggests. Then Wallace perks up. 

“If you’re steering me off topic, you know just how to do it.” Veronica grins at him. He knows exactly what she’s doing, but he doesn’t mind. She can appreciate that in a friend. Lilly never knew when to just let her be. 

Lilly would pry and pry and pry and never let Veronica in on any secrets of her own. Well, Veronica’s not making that mistake with Wallace. If they both keep each other at an arm’s length regarding their pasts? Perfect. It just gives him less ammo to use to take her down. She likes the guy, but she’s not sure she trusts him yet. 

She trusted Lilly with her whole heart, and look where that got her. 

  
  
  
  
  


Lilly has made a lot of mistakes in her life. She’d never say that out loud, of course. She owns every decision people know about and she’s sure they know that she’s proud of them. She's proud of every sexual encounter that she's ever had, even the one with Logan's dad. Was it kind of a dick move? Yeah. But was it illegal? No. At least not for her. 

It was just statutory. And statutory? That’s only illegal for the person on the other end of the line. Lilly’s never done anything she’d do time for, as the rich white daughter of the richest man in Neptune California. At least, before she accidentally killed her brother. 

“What does it matter if Sheriff Mars keeps looking into it? He won’t find anything,” Lilly says. There isn’t anything left to find. Her parents had made sure of that. Whatever proof there is that Lilly killed Duncan is gone. They’ve already got a guy who’s agreed to let them frame him. Whatever Veronica’s dad finds here won’t be anything that can convict them. 

“If Keith Mars keeps this up, you _will_ go to jail, Lilly,” her mother says. 

“What?” Lilly asks. 

“The evidence isn’t buried well enough yet. We haven’t even fixed everything. If he finds something now, they will send you to jail, Lilly. And the rest of us for helping you.” Good old mom and her boundless confidence. 

“Not jail, Celeste,” her father says, “you really think we couldn’t work an insanity plea?” 

“Insanity?” Lilly asks. She feels her eyes widen. She’s not insane, at least she didn’t think she was. Her blackouts were so short, so inconsequential, at least they were until the one where she killed her brother. 

“That would be the only way to get you off without jail time,” her father says, “and it _is_ true. You weren’t in your right mind, Lilly. We know it.” Lilly hasn’t cried in years, but she cries now. The sobs catch in her throat as the tears flow down her eyes. 

“We love you, Lily. We know you didn't mean this.” Her father kisses her forehead. 

“I’m going to protect you,” he promises. Duncan is dead, and it’s her fault. She killed her brother, and her father is doing everything he can to make sure that she’s alright. Lilly hugs him as tightly as she can. Lilly promises herself she’ll be a better daughter. She won't be perfect, but she’ll be the best she can be. 

She owes that to both of them, her father and Duncan. All the family expectations are on her shoulders now. She might be able to live up to some of them. 

Cutting Veronica out of her life hurts, but Lilly knows it’s not a mistake. She knows that Veronica’s dad can and will ruin her life, and Veronica decided to stand by his side, no matter what. Lilly doubts she’d change her mind if Veronica found out Lilly had been the one to kill Duncan. 

Talking shit behind her back, making sure that the 09ers avoid her like the plague? That might have been a bit overkill, but Lilly needs to sell her case. She’s a scorned sister, an ex best friend. If she showed any sympathy for Veronica now, it would make her seem weak. Burning her relationship with Veronica might be a mistake, but it’s one that Lilly has to make. 

Dropping Logan? That doesn’t even qualify. Lilly’s bored of him, and seeing him after sleeping with his father just makes Lilly feel guilty. Boredom and guilt do not a happy relationship make. Dropping Logan isn’t a mistake, not even in the loosest sense of the word. 

But staying with Eli, even when she promised her parents she’d gone straight? That might be a mistake, but it's a mistake that Lilly's willing to see through. She enjoys his company more than any of the guys she's ever had before, and that's worth a risk. 

  
  


Veronica and Logan don't talk anymore. They don't really acknowledge that the other exists. Veronica thinks it might be easier if they did. They're Lilly's leftovers, the both of them.  
  
But they were never really friends, not the way that he and Duncan were. Not the way that she and Lily were. They were friends by proximity, association. He was her boyfriend's best friend and she was his girlfriend's best friend. They had to be friendly, but not too friendly. Close but not too close.  
  
Duncan suggested having a double wedding, once, when they were all drunk off their asses and Lilly laughed hard enough to shake the walls. 

“Duncan, you really think I’d share my big day with you?” 

As if Lilly would let Duncan be another groom instead of the best man, and Veronica be a bride instead of the maid of honor. 

Maybe Duncan wasn't the problem. Maybe it was Veronica. Maybe it was Logan, or maybe it was all of them.

Now Duncan is dead, and the three of them are left here alone. Maybe they'd never really had anything at all. 

  
  
  


“I heard you were making a compilation for Duncan,” Veronica says. 

“Yeah,” Logan says, “You know what he’d like to go with it? His girlfriend’s dad accusing _his_ dad of his murder! Wouldn't that go great in this video?” 

“I was wondering if you wanted footage from homecoming, you dick,” Veronica says. 

“Then again, Lilly didn't want to kiss you then anymore than she wants to kiss you now. Maybe you don't want to relive that.” Logan freezes, and whatever cocky veneer he had on earlier melts away. He just looks confused, vulnerable even. She’s never seen a Logan who looked _vulnerable_ before.

“Do you hate me or something?” He takes a deep breath, then asks, “We used to be friends too. What happened?” 

“Duncan died. Lilly dumped us. Apparently there wasn't more than that tying us together.” 

“Yeah, V. I was his _best friend_. I’d know,” Logan says. The way he says it sounds like best friend is more important than “girlfriend”. And she knows that it is, too. She knows she was more important to Lilly than Logan was, even if neither of them really mattered in the end. 

“You know, being best friend doesn’t mean much either,” Veronica says, “Lilly dumped me too.”

“I guess we could bond over that,” he says, “getting screwed over by Lilly Kane.” It doesn’t take long before that happens precisely. Except it’s less “bonding” and more “making out in the back of Logan’s car”.

  
  
  
"Is this because of Lilly?" Veronica asks him. 

“About twenty percent,” he admits. 

“What about you?” he asks, “how much of this is to spite her?” She bites her lip and thinks about lying. She knows that he’ll see through it, though. It’s not like she would have thought to ask the question if that weren’t a crucial part of her motives too. 

“Twenty five,” she says. To her surprise this makes him _grin,_ and he kisses her again: this time even harder. 

They go to school the next day, holding hands so tightly it almost hurts. 

They just want to make sure that Lilly sees it, that it hurts Lilly to see them together. The ex best friend and the ex boyfriend happy and together and living without Lilly Kane by their side. 

It’s not true of course, for either of them, but it sure does help to pretend.  
  


  
  
  
At school that day, Lilly glares from across the hallway. When Veronica gets home that day and Wallace shows up to hang out, he glares from across the couch.  
  
"You can't just get back together with your rich friends and leave me in the dust. You can't do that, Veronica Mars,” Wallace says.

“It’s just Logan,” Veronica says, “I’m not back with Lilly or anything.” 

“But you would be, if you could,” Wallace says, “you’d drop me for Lilly Kane in a heartbeat.” Veronica wants to protest, wants to say that Wallace is completely wrong and there’s no truth to it… but she can’t. She knows that if Lilly showed up on her doorstep and apologized, Veronica _would_ take her back. She’d wrap her arms around her and hold so tightly that Lilly could never leave her again. She’d whisper how much she loved her in Lilly’s ear and take in the smell of her hair and the feeling of their bodies slotting together and not even pretend she hasn’t missed Lilly more than breathing. 

She’d hold Lilly’s hand for the next few days, just to make sure the other girl didn’t evaporate. 

“Who’s to say I’d drop you?” Veronica asks, “someone can have more than one friend.” Wallace laughs. 

“Yeah, they _can,”_ he says, “but not if their tongue’s stuck down her throat the whole time.” 

“I don’t want to stick my tongue down her throat,” Veronica says. Lilly’s her best friend, which is more than a primal attraction. Veronica loves her more than Duncan, more than Logan- more than anyone that she’s ever met. There _has_ to be something special about that. Just because she was possessive didn’t mean anything, did it? Just because she’d rather be touching Lilly than anyone else, talking to her, listening to her. Just because she’d rather smell her than anyone else. 

But, well. That’s an issue that Veronica would rather not deal with right now. She’d rather not deal with it any time, ever. At all. 

“Well, Lilly’s not offering,” Veronica says. That sounds like the best denial she’s ever going to get. 

“I’m not offering either,” Wallace says, and there’s this look of disgust on his face that’s just hilarious. Veronica laughs, the sound reverberating through the room. 

“Can you _imagine_ that?” Veronica asks. Out of all the people she’s ever imagined making out with, something about kissing Wallace seems the most wrong. She tries not to think about what it means that it’s not _Lilly_ who takes that title. 

“I’d prefer not to, honestly,” Wallace says. He bites his lip for a second, then turns to her with honest eyes. 

“You aren’t going to dump me, right?” he asks cautiously. 

“I wouldn’t,” Veronica says, “not even for Lilly.” There’s some things that Veronica wouldn’t do, not even for Lilly. She might not be willing to open up to Wallace yet, but she likes the guy. There's still some chance that their friendship might mean something important. She's not actually going to throw that away for a bridge that Lilly burned. 

“Alright,” Wallace says, nodding, “alright.” He seems more secure after hearing that, and Veronica’s relieved. She wouldn’t want him to think that she’d leave him. For better or worse, they’re in this together. Regardless of who she’s pining for or making out with. Maybe there is something sacred about being best friends, at least. When she doesn't want to stick her tongue down the other person's throat. 

**Author's Note:**

> sorry that this is so... abrupt about the ending. i've had this sitting in my drafts for 2 years now, and i don't think that i'm ever going to go back and watch veronica mars so i can finish this thing properly. i decided that now was as good a time as ever to polish it up a little and post it.
> 
> if i ever get back into the show, i might come back and finish this thing for real. for now, though, i hope that you enjoyed what is.


End file.
